Page updated/links checked: 2/21/25 Introduction The Scammer: Dishonest Agents The Schmagent: Amateur, Marginal, and Incompetent Agents Telling Questionable From Reputable **A Special Warning: Fake Literary Agency Scams** Agents Who Are Also Publishers Additional Cautions One Last, Very Important Thing Resources Introduction Do you need a literary agent in order to find a publisher? If you’re […]

by Eva Scalzo

There are things you want to be sure you’re asking beginning on that first call, when you’re trying to see if an agent will be a good fit for you

by Alice Speilburg

At the pre-publication stage, as you’re drafting queries and sending off sample pages, an editor at a publishing house and a literary agent seem to serve the same purpose: to legitimize your claim as a professional author, and to set you on the path to publication.

For those interested in breaking into genre television writing, an agent is paramount. They are the gatekeepers into a very exclusive world with a limited number of buyers. Here are some useful tips to garner representation.

Traditionally, writers have worked with agents on the basis of a handshake.  SFWA has, however, long believed that writers need the protection of a written agreement.  The latest re-working of SFWA’s model agent agreement is more detailed than the previous version so it can address specific problems writers have had in recent years. Download Agreement […]

Last week a literary agent contacted me on Twitter. “Ever heard of these folks?” she asked. “They’ve been spamming us all day.”

The link she gave me led to a service called Agent Artery.

Query letters. Except for the synopsis, there’s no more dreaded task a writer has to undertake.

How to boil an entire book down to a short pitch that not only provides an accurate snapshot of the work, but makes a literary agent (or a publisher) want to see more?

The other day, on one of the online writers’ discussion groups I frequent, someone asked a couple of questions about the list that I thought it would be instructive to answer here: why do we include agencies on the list if they’re not currently active?

In 1997, complaints began to surface about German literary agent Uwe Luserke, who was selling foreign rights to English-language short stories and novels and neglecting to pay the advances and royalties due to authors.

Writer Beware’s Alerts page has been updated.

NEW ALERT: Literary Agent Uwe Luserke

In 1997, complaints began to surface about German literary agent Uwe Luserke, who was selling foreign rights to Engli…

A little while back, I blogged about yet another of the ways in which PublishAmerica was attempting to extract cash from its authors: a fee-charging “literary agency.”